Random post at its finest

Here are some random photos of Brooke taken yesterday and today....for no reason at all and in no particular order.

Brooke likes to crawl away from us at any time of the day, clothing optional. In the mornings when I change her diaper AND her clothes is no exception.

She still occasionally fake freaks out.

I try to clip her hair back, but it doesn't always work. She likes to pull any and all hair accessories out, even if it means she can't see in front of her (because yes, she has that much hair). This photo was taken after breakfast this morning, after several successful attempts to pull the green clip out of her hair. In this process, she got crumbs, peanut butter, milk, yogurt and peaches in her hair. Lovely.

This is what happens when daddy stays home while mommy goes out:
Daddy pulls our her bouncer and she gets enthralled....

Pretty cool that there's a mirror up there!

And then she lounges around with her dad while watching (brace yourselves) the dark knight. I hate that movie because its so creepy and violent, yet its appropriate for a 12 month old. Hmm...

Photos of the day

Brooke's favorite thing today was her daddy's cell phone. AND, she even knows how to use it! (See video below!)

She's very studious like her mother.

Milestones and other things like that....

So, I'm basically doing a blog post about where Brooke is at and what funny things she does for my records (and your enjoyment of course!).....you're welcome.

At the beginning of this video, you can see Brooke start to dance a little, and then she points to the camera like she wants Gordon to stop recording. And please note the necklace she's wearing. Read on for further details.

1. She is almost walking....except she's not. She has no problem walking holding onto things, holding onto our hands, but the minute we let go--BAM! That diapered butt hits the floor. She won't even stand on her own. One day she'll get it....one day.

2. She can say "mama", "dada", "ya", and "hi" AND she even knows what they mean, too! Its aweome. We still don't have an official first word of hers yet because she has been babbling for a while now. We've agreed on 'dada' for now. Shayna votes for 'banana yum'. (haha)

3. She dances....sort of. Its cute! We play music and she'll bop her head and ocassionally her whole body will follow. She can also dance on command (if she's in a good mood).

4. Today for the first time, one of her little play group buddies took her toy and she hit them back! Not sure how I feel about this.....glad she's defending herself, but not by hitting.

5. Brooke bites me. She started this a few days ago. She's gotten me on the shoulder, on the arm, and has attempted my thigh, calf and toes. When I sternly say "no" and pull my arm away, she cries and then wants a hug. That calms her down. And then she bites me again.

6. She likes to hide things in our shoes. Keys, toys and food seem to be top choices.

7. She also knows that shoes and socks go on our feet and hats go on our heads. She's tried to put her socks and shoes on as well as Gordon's and my shoes on (all different attempts).

8. We have this necklace that Zoe made for me that is made up of larger beads. Its one of Brooke's favorite things. She likes to put it on and take it off. It also makes a great pacifier.

9. She can fold her arms. If we say prayer time and fold our arms, usually she'll fold hers too. If she doesn't the first time, we prompt her by tapping her elbow and then she does it. Its awfully cute, even if it lasts about 4 seconds!

10. She's becoming quite the picky eater. She hates drinking cows milk and one thing she likes today, she generally won't like tomorrow. She also likes to stuff her mouth full of food (she resembles a chipmunk) and then spit it all out and play with it. Its REALLY fun cleaning that up.

11. She makes little noises to get our attention and then points to things she wants. I've started signing with her, but she hasn't caught on yet. I don't really know the sign for cheerios....or magnet. (The 2 things she wanted today)

12. She's very independent and wants to do lots of things on her own. For instance, if we help her turn the pages in a book, she'll take it from us and do it herself. Or drinking from her sippy cup--we'll tilt it up so she can actually drink something out of it instead of air, but she pulls away wanting to do it on her own.

13. Right now, she takes 1-2 naps in the day (depending on our schedules and her crankiness) and sleeps on average 12 hours a night. Its amazing. There is such a difference from a newborn to a 1 year old as far as sleeping patterns go! I love sleep! The best part is I know when she's tired, so I just lay her down and she drifts off to sleep without a peep! A miracle, I tell you!

14. She fake cries. Then we call her out on it (you know, like "faker!" or "stop! You're not really crying!") and she stops. Its kind of funny.

15. She throws everything. She doesn't really play with her toys. Well, I guess her playing would be her throwing her toys. She also likes to throw our cell phones, her food, DVD's, really anything she touches gets launched into the air somehow. On Sunday, she threw a toy in sacrament meeting and it went two rows behind us. She seemed to be pretty proud of herself.

Thats all I can think of right now. Thank you for listening.

I love a day about love

So, I just wanted to give a shout out to my fabulous husband for a wonderful Valentine's Day! We kept it simple this year, which is what we seem to do EVERY year, but it was great! Gordon got me a cute picture frame that had qualities he thinks I have as a mother written on it and a salad dressing bottle I had been wanting for a while. AND, my favorite: he made me a cute little video! I love it! Poor guy loves me so much that he stayed up until 3:30 am finishing it! So, I posted it for you all to see! He's a sweetheart! Hope you all have someone to love because I sure do!

So Funny!

New Bath Toys

I know we live a very exciting life when the only thing to blog about is Brooke's new bath toys. Oh well. She loves them! We got her some foam letters and some small animals that squirt water. And, recently we started adding bubble bath to the water and she is so intrigued with the whole idea. So intrigued that she just wants to eat them all. Anyways, these are just a few photos taken the other day of her having a blast in the tub. Scroll to the bottom for a video.

Not sure if you can make out all the bubbles on her face, but this was taken right after she tried to eat some bubbles/drink some water.

Crazy haired Brooke holding some new toys.

Her foam letters and numbers stick to everything! Cute tiny hiney!

She's pretty excited about this whole bath idea.

Undercover Daddy taking video footage that may or may not be used to blackmail her in the future. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Brooke!

Our baby turned one yesterday. It was a great day for all of us, especially Brooke! This is how the evening played out:

Daddy brought home some cute balloons for our birthday girl! She absolutely loves them! Its one of her new favorite things!

"Hmm...this looks interesting"

"Hey, this stuff is pretty good!"

"No photographs, please!"

"Just kidding, you can take all the pictures you want!"

Opening gifts with daddy

Great Day!

I had a really good day today, so I thought I would share the joy!

1) Brooke slept in an extra half an hour which meant I got to sleep in an extra half an hour! I actually woke up at 7:20 and listened for Brooke. When I heard nothing I told myself: "Go back to bed! This is amazing!" Hooray for good night rests.

2) Shayna and I were supposed to go running this morning but something came up. We get to go tomorrow and I'm excited! Its a lot easier to run outside with someone. Oh, and because we rescheduled, I got to shower and get ready for the day before 9 am! Awesome.

3) Brooke and I go to a play group 3 times a week (usually). Today we went and it was great! Brooke plays well with all the kids there and I got to talk to and get to know more people living in our complex! Also, it gives Brooke motivation to walk! Its going to happen soon! People were asking me about the food I make and they took down my food blog address! Yay for more people reading my food blog!

4) When Gordon got home from classes, Brooke was down for a nap, so we got to eat and hang out together for a little. Then, we were able to go out shopping for a good part of the afternoon. We picked up some birthday gifts for Brooke, dropped off some clothes at DI, found some great bargains there, and then went to Broulim's.

5) When we got home, Brooke went down for another nap, and Gordon and I got to spend even more time together! Unheard of in the middle of a semester! We decided to document this momentous occasion.

6) Gordon checked the mail today and got a letter from the Portland Police Department with his testing dates! So exciting! He might have to miss some classes, but it might be worth it if he gets a job that he LOVES.

7) Today while I was making dinner, Gordon was playing with Brooke. Here's what they did together (which was pretty entertaining listening to them from the kitchen! They are so cute together...and apart!):

8) For dinner, I experimented with spaghetti squash and used it in place of actual spaghetti noodles. They were REALLY good! Gordon and Brooke loved it too! Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo and Spaghetti Squash is a new favorite! Yum! I have half of the squash left still, so my mind is working on what to make with it next!

9) Once Brooke is down for the night (7:30ish) I'll have the whole evening to myself! This usually happens every night, but tonight, I have plans: I'm going to work out and do some scrapbooking!

HOORAY FOR GREAT DAYS! I love my life and my cute little family!

Its a long one!

I've been slacking a little bit when it comes to blogging! There's so much work around the house to do and most of the time Gordon has the computer and is on campus! We'd much rather have him home, but we're glad he's going to school......I guess. :) But, a lot of my time has been devoted to Brooke and then when she's asleep, its devoted to our NEW WEBSITE(!!!) that will be up and running shortly-I will keep you all posted. A combination of my food blog and this blog for convenience for you and me. Also, I wanted things to start looking a little more professional because I'm starting to take my food blog a little more seriously. I'm VERY VERY excited.

Anyways, these are some photos that we've taken over the last few days that I just haven't gotten around to posting. Well actually, its moving the photos from the camera to the computer that just never seems to work for me. I swear its a conspiracy against me. Curses!

This is Brooke after her bath one night, She's got some crazy long hair going on!

I made pretzels and soup one day for lunch and she absolutely loved the pretzels! She chomped and chomped away at them!

On Sunday (I think), I gave Brooke her first taste of chocolate in the form of a fudgesicle. This girl loves her food! If we're eating it, she wants it.

I'm not sure I mentioned this yet, but Brooke knows how to dance! Technically its not really dancing, but she sort of sways back and forth to music. I tried to get video of it when I took these photos, but of course she stops the second I start recording. Maybe another day.

She wouldn't give up the stick! There was nothing left to lick off of it, but that didn't seem to matter.

Over the weekend, our little family ventured out into the cold and met up with Shayna, Tony and their kids at Rexburg's winterfest. It was a chilly day and Brooke was hating life as you can tell in ALL of these photos. We had fun sipping hot chocolate, getting snow in our shoes, trying to push our stroller around on snow (my idea.....bad idea!) and going on slay rides!


Cute cousins that match! Can you tell we're sisters? I think so! Or, maybe its just the hats....

We got Brooke a new 'big girl' car seat. Since she's going to be 1 soon and she has almost completely grown out of her old one (lengthwise) we got this one for her. We're still waiting to get her weighed to officially put her in it while in the car. For now, its makes a great seat for those baby einsteins she watches in the morning. There's even a cup holder for her juice!